Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore.
Psalm 125:2
There’s a lot of shaking up that has been and is going on right now.
I heard the weight of it in my mother-in-law’s voice.
This strong warrior woman of faith…is weary.
Not because she’s 87 years old.
She’s actually in great shape and can do more than many who are younger.
My mother-in-law is weary from all that is going on in the world.
Afghanistan, the tragic loss of soldiers, wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, COVID.
It’s…A LOT.
It’s a lot for all of us. A lot to take in, a lot to process,
a lot to lead through, a lot to make sense of-if that’s even possible,
and a lot to entrust into God’s hands.
Which is why this Sunday’s psalm is helpful.
Those who trust in the Lord, we are told, will not be shaken,
and for all that is coming at us, it cannot get to us
because we are surrounded by God Who loves us,
now and forevermore.
Yes. Good. Comforting. But God…still…IT’S A LOT!
And God, as You know and as T.S. Elliot says pretty well in the Four Quartets, Burnt Norton:
“Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”
Well Lord, we have had a boat load of all kinds of reality this year,
and it’s not stopping and frankly, it feels like it is too much to bear.
Perhaps you can relate with my mother-in-law and the too much of this year which seems to
have no end in sight. I certainly can. If so, this psalm is a needed balm and help.
It is a help in that it immediately reminds us that our job is not to hold the weight of all of the world’s devastations in our spirits, psyches, and hearts.
Our job is to trust in the One Who holds us.
Those who trust in the Lord…
When, in the face of overwhelm, we choose to speak trust and live trust
in God, we are simultaneously acknowledging Who God is and who we are not.
God is God. Not us.
We are not the Creator, Sustainer, or Redeemer.
When we try to hold all of the world’s pain in our own understanding,
we are attempting to usurp the place of Almighty God, and that is not our place.
We are but a breath and a blade of grass with today as our only promise of time,
and the first and most important job of this day is to trust in the Lord.
Whether we feel it or not, we speak it just the same, walking by faith and not by sight.
We speak our trust in Almighty God, we move in that trust, and we honor God with actions as
those loved, called, chosen, forgiven, and empowered to do God’s will.
Trusting God in this day, we realize the need to seek God first – and we do.
We are then able to give the cup of water, visit the sick, fill the flood bucket, feed the hungry,
stand against evil and injustice, welcome the stranger, love our neighbor, pray for enemies,
offer forgiveness, follow in faith, lead with love, and rejoice in the Lord.
Trusting in God we know that any difference which is made and any blessing received is done
by the grace of the One we trust, because God is God and we are not.
In this way, the weight we were never meant to carry is placed in the hands of the only One able to hold all that is and ever will be, including us.
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
they are the dwelling place of God
which cannot be shaken, both now and forevermore.
We trust You Lord.
Help us to grow in and live out our trust in You today.
Trusting with you and thankful for you, 
Dena
If you would like to view past editions of Grace for the Journey, follow this link: https://fairwaydistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/